Children to put on 'The Wizard of Oz'

<b>Susanne Haala / Tahoe Daily Tribune</b>Acting instructor Kira Galindo teaches songs to children who will play the Winkies for "The Wizard of Oz" production Tuesday at the lawn of Tallac Historic Site.

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Only five days but still so much to do: Studying scripts, learning choreography and singing songs were on the list Tuesday for children involved in the production of "The Wizard of Oz," which they will perform Friday.

"They have their audition on Monday and their show is on Friday, so they have five days to learn all the songs," said Kira Galindo, one of two instructors from Missoula who teach the younger kids.

Children selected to play Winkies were all between 5 and 16 years old, but the lead characters were up to 18 years old. Eight-year-old Sage said that it was her first time acting and that "it was so much fun" and that she made a lot of new friends.

Jennifer Hanna, tour actor and director, taught the older kids, who will play lead characters including Dorothy, the Lion, Toto, the Tin Man, the Wizard and the Green Guard.

"We are at the second-day rehearsal right now so, for the first two days of rehearsal, we stay separated to teach different groups and tomorrow we're going to put everyone together," Hanna said.

Both tour actors, Hanna and Galindo, travel to communities every week to teach young kids who are interested in acting how to play and perform "The Wizard of Oz."

Some of the kids already brought a lot of experience to the rehearsal.

"I started acting seventh grade," said 13-year-old Kendall who will play Dorothy. "It's fun, you definitely meet a bunch of people and its fun to learn a whole new role."

The kids agreed that the play of "The Wizard of Oz" definitely includes tons of humor and that it will be tough not to start laughing during the auditions.

"The Wizard of Oz" will take the stage Friday at 5 p.m. at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater at the U.S. Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitor's Center.